The Young and the Restless: Who Said Michael Beasley Was More NBA Ready?

They said he was Chris Paul but less flashy. They said he was Jason Kidd with an extra couple of points a game. They said he was anything but the best. They even said he would be the second best player this rookie season.

Nobody said that he would break out this rookie season much better than big man Michael Beasley would.

Beasley was thought to be the short-term pick, the guy who would come in and dominate other teams by scoring inside and blocking shots, and it was understandable that people would think this after his sensational rookie season where he scored, rebounded, and blocked at will.

Derrick Rose, on the other hand, was thought of as a guy who would take some time to come in, he would play well, but he wouldn't be spectacular until later.

They were wrong.

Rose has gone about his NBA career by scoring almost at will and by having a big impact on the shooters around him.

He's leading all rookies in assists per game and efficiency, second in points per game, and 13th in rebounds despite playing the point guard position, which usually doesn't see players have a lot of rebounds.

But Rose has done something that Beasley has failed to do, Rose has energized the city of Chicago, and he has made us think that the Bulls might still be able to pull a season out of what has happened so far.

Sure, he'll have the occasional bad game (1-8 shooting, 6 pts, 1 ast, 0 reb in 30 minutes against the Trailblazers) but he has those amazing games where he will floor you with his athleticism (25 pts, 9 asts the next night against the Warriors).

His ability to penetrate and score have been amazing and he has been good more than he has been bad (just one game with under 10 points but seven games with more than 20).

The best thing about Rose has been his ability to stay out of trouble. He had four fouls in just two games, three fouls in two more, and has kept his foul number below three in the other 12 games.

We love knowing that he is always at our disposal and that he will rarely foul out of a game.

We also love that we have already found him a back-court friend that can maximize his ability. Rose and Ben Gordon have been a force when both are on the court at the same time.

They work together in ways that, if they grow together, will make Chicago fans salivate at the sight of them together.

There were worries that Rose was also not a great shooter, but he has been able to shoot better than OJ Mayo, who was the person thought to be the shooter coming out of college (Rose is shooting .484, Mayo is shooting .461).

Most of all, I love the potential. Every reliable source has said that he would need a learning curve heading into the NBA, but his ability has been far and away above every other rookie.